A batch of Taiwanese pineapples from Pingtung County on Tuesday (April 14) left for Japan, where the fruits will be sold at more than 300 branches of a major supermarket chain.

As the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic inflicts substantial damage on the Taiwanese agriculture industry, Seiyu Supermarket has placed a large order of pineapples from the Pingtung County Government. According to UDN, the deal was signed a year ago, and more than 600 tons of the tropical fruit is expected to be shipped to Taiwan's neighbor over the next few months.

During a press conference Tuesday morning, Pingtung Magistrate Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said that the southern Taiwanese county harvests more than half of the country's pineapples and that many cities in Japan, including Tokyo, Kobe, and Osaka, have requested shipments since January. He said the deal with Seiyu Supermarket is exhilarating because it has opened a whole new destination for Taiwan's agriculture products, reported HiNet.